This article is about Davy Jones' curse aboard the Flying Dutchman.
You may be looking for Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest: The Curse of Davy Jones.
- "Don't you see I'm cursed to this ship?"
"That's why I'm here. I think I know a way to break your curse, to free you from the Dutchman."
"Henry, no."
"I've read about a treasure. A treasure that holds all the power of the sea. The Trident of Poseidon can break your curse." - ―Will Turner and Henry Turner[src]
The curse of the Flying Dutchman was a terrible curse that fell on the Flying Dutchman and its crew. Captained by Davy Jones, the Dutchman originally carried the souls of those who died at sea to the other world, until Jones, betrayed by the sea goddess Calypso, decided to abandon his duty, dooming himself and his crew to spend an eternity wandering the Seven Seas transformed into monsters.
Contents
- 1 History
- 1.1 Davy Jones
- 1.2 Will Turner
- 2 Behind the scenes
- 3 Appearances
- 4 Sources
- 5 Notes and references
History[]
Davy Jones[]
- "One hundred years before the mast, losing who you were, bit by bit, until you end up... end up like poor Wyvern here. Once you've sworn an oath to the Dutchman, there's no leaving it. Not until your debt is paid."
- ―Bootstrap Bill Turner to Will Turner[src]
According to one particular legend, the sea goddess Calypso charged a great sailor named Davy Jones with the sacred task of ferrying souls who died at sea, only being able to set foot on dry land once every ten years, and if this love was true to him, his task would be complete and a new captain of the Flying Dutchman would be found.[1] However, when the time of their first one day came, Calypso was nowhere to be found. Feeling betrayed, Jones abandoned his sacred task and showed the First Brethren Court how to bind Calypso in human form, so the rule over the sea would belong to men, and thus the Age of Piracy began.[2]
But Jones corrupted himself by his choice to abandon his duty. He carved out his heart and put a geis on it, that if someone stabbed his heart, their heart must take its place. Davy Jones became a nightmarish creature; half human, half sea beast, a crab claw for an arm, and a beard made of octopus tentacles. The Flying Dutchman became a terrifying ghost ship, its hull draped in seaweed, and its sails glowing like fire. As the legendary ruler of the ocean depths, Davy Jones offered drowning mariners the chance to live and postpone the judgement by joining his crew and serving one hundred years before the mast. However, over the years the deal slowly morphed into a fate worse than death as the crewmen become terrifying barnacled monsters, the nightmarish hybrids of human and sea life. Coral-covered, weed-wrapped, polyp-pimpled grotesques under the curse of the Flying Dutchman, Davy Jones' crew were more loyal members of the Dutchman that cannot be killed, and therefore, they knew no fear.[3][4][2]
No matter how Jones' offer may have looked attractive to some deluded sailors, the deal also contained a trap, a gift and a lie at the same time. Men who served aboard the Dutchman thought they would cheat the powers, but it was not reprieval they would find but oblivion. Losing who they were, bit by bit, until they mutated so much they eventually became parts of the ship itself, merging with the hull. In an attempt to escape that fate, many crewmen resorted to playing Liar's Dice, waging their years of service, desperately hoping to pass their remaining time aboard the ship onto someone else, so they could be free from Jones and allowed to finally die.[4]
When he was cursed with the Black Spot, Jack Sparrow fled to Cannibal Island,[5] partly to avoid Jones' Faustian pact, in which he was to be cursed to an afterlife of eternal servitude and damnation in the service of Jones.[4][6]
Will Turner[]
- "Tell me why you seek the Trident."
"The Trident can break any curse at sea. My father is trapped by such a curse."
"You're aware of the fact that curses are not supported by science?" - ―Carina Smyth and Henry Turner[src]
Jones' reign of terror came to an end during the battle of Calypso's maelstrom when Will Turner stabbed Jones' heart, thereby becoming the new captain of the Flying Dutchman. With the curse lifted, Turner led the Dutchman and its crew against the flagship of the East India Trading Company Armada, the HMS Endeavour. The combined power of the Dutchman and the Black Pearl destroyed the Endeavour, forcing the remaining EITC forces to retreat, thus ending the War Against Piracy with pirate victory. With the Dutchman having a purpose once again, Turner accepted his duty as the new ferryman of the dead. Before he left, he consumated his marriage with Elizabeth Swann, an act which would result in the birth of their son. Ten years later, Will Turner came ashore for one day to visit his family.[2]
However, a few years later, Turner resigned himself to the fact that his service was eternal, which seemingly led to the return of the original curse, with the ship and its crew reverting to their cursed forms. In an attempt to save his father, Will's son Henry spent years studying the myths of the sea, learning every legend and every curse. He even boarded the ship, telling Will about the treasure that could save him, the legendary Trident of Poseidon. Believing the Trident to be just a tale and carrying the burden of being cursed to the ship, Will ordered Henry to forget about him.[7]
Stubborn like his father, Henry never gave up. Nine years later, as a young man, Henry joined forces with Jack Sparrow and the astronomer Carina Smyth to search for the Trident. Their quest led them to Poseidon's Tomb where they battled the ghost of the infamous Spanish pirate hunter Capitán Armando Salazar who wanted to exact revenge on Sparrow. After solving the riddle of Galileo Galilei's diary, Henry broke the Trident, thereby breaking every curse at sea. The destruction of the Trident turned Salazar and his crew back into their mortal human forms, and they all drowned when the walls of water closed over the Tomb. A few days later, Will Turner returned to his family, free from the curse. However, Davy Jones also mysteriously reappeared, still in his cursed form.[7]
Behind the scenes[]
- The curse of the Flying Dutchman was first featured in the 2006 film Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. Although never named as such on-screen, Davy Jones was called "the cursed captain of the Flying Dutchman" in Jack Sparrow: The Timekeeper.[8] In Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales Will Turner also said that he was "cursed to this ship".
- According to creature designer Crash McCreery, one of the first things director Gore Verbinski said was they had to come up with a new curse for Dead Man's Chest, which resulted in a crew that was "living on the bottom of the ocean all this time."[9] This resulted in Davy Jones and his barnacled crew under the curse of the Flying Dutchman.
- There was some controversy over Will Turner's final fate in At World's End. Writer Terry Rossio posted on a forum that after ten years Will was able to leave the Flying Dutchman, as Elizabeth had remained faithful to him. He also stated that this was why Jones could not escape, as Calypso had abandoned him.[10][11] However, a leaflet inside the At World's End DVD said that Will was bound to the Flying Dutchman for all eternity.[12] The fifth film in the series, Dead Men Tell No Tales, written by Jeff Nathanson, confirmed that Will was cursed to sail the seas as captain of the Dutchman forever. Rossio later said he was not involved in the decision to disregard his explanation.[13]
Appearances[]
- Jack Sparrow: City of Gold
- Jack Sparrow: The Timekeeper
- Jack Sparrow: Dance of the Hours
- The Price of Freedom
- Pirates of the Caribbean Online
- Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
- Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (junior novelization) (First appearance)
- Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest: The Movie Storybook
- Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (video game)
- Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (comic)
- Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
- Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (junior novelization)
- Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End: The Movie Storybook
- Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (video game)
- Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (comic)
- Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (Penguin Readers)
- Pirates of the Caribbean: Tides of War
- The Brightest Star in the North: The Adventures of Carina Smyth (Mentioned only)
- Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales
- Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales Novelization
- Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales: Movie Graphic Novel
- LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game (Non-canonical appearance)
- Sea of Thieves: A Pirate's Life (Non-canonical appearance)
Sources[]
- Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
- Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
- Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales
